January Spotlight
STEM Activities: From Building Code to Building Bridges and Everything in Between.
"First off, STEM education is vital to our children’s futures! There is just no other way to put it. Many of the careers they will have as adults don’t even exist yet, and yet we are faced with the task of preparing them for whatever lies ahead. I have grown quite worried over the last few years because there has been such a focus on math and reading (Don’t get me wrong...both are important!) that many teachers have put science and social studies on the back burner. I get it! You’re trying to meet a growth goal, and your attention is more narrowly focused on those numbers. However, I think that in the end we are hurting our students by not focusing on a more well-rounded approach."I know many of us agree with her wholeheartedly on this subject. Reading and math are crucial skills, but other subjects are just as important. In fact, the new ESSA quality indicators reference fine arts and science in small part along with the normal reading and math academic indicators. We are even starting to see some STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) activities within our district. I believe we will all see more of this in the future because of the many benefits that our students gain from them. I asked Mrs. Thomasson about the student benefits from her STEM activities.
"Yes, STEM provides wonderful applications in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, but beyond that, it is such a great opportunity for students to use and cultivate the skills of perseverance, collaboration, and creativity! There were times in the beginning of teaching STEM projects a couple of years ago that I worried that the kids were simply “playing" and maybe not getting a lot out of it; however, the more I use the STEM activities in the classroom, the more I see comments like "I can't do this, I can't think of anything, She is being bossy" fade away. Children can be taughtperseverance fairly easily even though 5 years ago it was a much more difficult task. It is hard lesson to learn and teach in today's world of instant gratification, but it is so extremely important! I've also seen students work out differences because they didn't want to be the group at the end of the class time that had nothing to show for their work! (Yes, we did have that group at the beginning of the year.) I read an article a few years ago about a study that was done with top Japanese students and top American students. They were put in separate rooms and given a problem to solve. After just a few minutes, the American students were sitting around talking and said that the problem had no answer. The researchers finally interrupted the Japanese students after a couple of hours thinking they must not be very bright. When asked what they were doing, their reply was that they had known within minutes that the problem couldn’t be solved but figured that they were supposed to continue looking for a viable answer since they weren’t told to stop. Perseverance. It’s a skill that is necessary to any job a person might choose to go into. Many employers today will also add that being able to collaborate is just as important. In this very self-focused world we live in, students bury themselves in their own electronic device or phone and lose the ability to communicate with those around them. STEM activities require that the students work together and communicate effectively."
"On a cognitive level, chronically elevated stress can disrupt the development of what are known as executive functions: higher-order mental abilities that some researchers compare to a team of air-traffic controllers overseeing the workings of the brain. Executive functions, which include working memory, attentional control, and cognitive flexibility, are exceptionally helpful in navigating unfamiliar situations and processing new information, which is exactly what we ask children to do at school every day. When a child’s executive functions aren’t fully developed, school days, with their complicated directions and constant distractions, can become a never-ending exercise in frustration.""
I think most would agree that our students' stress levels are on the rise. This will remain to be the case as long as area plants continue to layoff our parents and our low income numbers continue to rise. This may lead to more and more students with less and less grit in our classrooms making the need for STEM or STEAM activities even more important.
Finally, Mrs. Thomasson is also teaching students to be divergent thinkers through these activities. According to John Spencer (Makerspace advocate), "Divergent thinking is what allows students to make connections between seemingly random ideas. In the process, they find innovative solutions by looking at things from different angles, often finding inspiration from surprising contexts." As Mrs. Thomasson's students make zip lines to help Rapunzel get out of her tower, build a wind-powered carriage for Cinderella, craft a gumdrop house for the three little pigs that will withstand a wolf, or work with their littleBits coding kits, there will be many opportunities for divergent thinking and problem solving.
Mrs. Thomasson is truly an asset to our students and our district as she is always willing to share her ideas, strategies, and even resources with her colleagues. I should add that Mrs. Thomasson received almost all (if not all) of the funding for these activities through grants and other sources such as DonorsChoose. If you would like to know more about her activities or other ideas, please email her at mthomasson@massac.org. I have added her letter that she sent out to her parents about some of the activities that she implemented with her class. Thank you Mrs. Thomasson for allowing me to share all of this, and please continue to do all that you do for our students. One colleague of mine stated, "Mrs. Thomasson makes me want to go back to the third grade again as a student!" I think this really says it all. Thank you.
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